Feast of St. Rose of Lima
Binondo Catholic Church
(Where St. Lorenzo Ruiz served)
Manila, Philippines
August 23, 2024
“On Mission”
It is a great honor to offer this Holy Mass among so many fellow Knights and families here in the Philippines, and to do so here in the parish church where Saint Lorenzo Ruiz served. With our Worthy Supreme Knight, Patrick Kelly, and his wife and daughters, let me thank you for your warm and gracious hospitality.
As you know, the 142nd Supreme Convention held in Quebec just concluded. It’s theme was simple, but also profound and challenging, viz., “On Mission”. As Knights and as Knights families, we are “on mission” – the mission Jesus entrusted to his Apostles as he ascended into heaven: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
As the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the world, the Knights are uniquely positioned to help the Church fulfill the mandate which the Lord entrusted to her and to all the baptized: to be disciples and to make disciples, to encounter the Lord in Word and Sacrament and to invite others to encounter the Lord in Word and Sacrament. For that reason, the Knights of Columbus is intent on forming us, its members, so that we will be spiritually equipped for mission. This is what the Cor initiative is all about.
Saints On Mission
In the meantime, at this Holy Mass, we celebrate the lives of saints who were most definitely on mission – St. Rose of Lima and St. Lorenzo Ruiz – (and who cannot mention St. Pedro Calungsod in the same breath?) Let us draw from their life and example the inspiration and strength we need to be “on mission”, “to do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5), and to do so as the family of the Knights of Columbus, beginning with St. Rose of Lima, the saint of the day.
St. Rose of Lima
At first glance, St. Rose of Lima, who hails from 17th century Peru, may not seem like someone who was “on mission”. She was a member of the 3rd Order Dominicans and, as the opening prayer said, her life of “great austerity” was “secluded from the world”. Yet, she made a tremendous impact on the Church’s mission of evangelization in the Americas. She prayed and sacrificed for the conversion of sinners and especially for the conversion of native Peruvians. Somehow, word of her life of prayer and penance became known and at her death large crowds turned out to commend her to God. And she became the first canonized saint of the New World.
Her life teaches us the importance of prayer. Without prayer, we can work at the Church’s mission long and hard but our efforts will bear no fruit; they will be in vain. Thus to reiterate the importance of the Cor initiative – helping Knights and indeed all Catholic men to deepen their life of prayer, to deepen their knowledge of Scripture and their appreciation of the sacraments, to help them welcome the Lord himself into the depth of their being, and to do so in a spirit of fraternal support and friendship. Without a vibrant interior life, it is difficult if not impossible to be “on mission”.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz
St. Lorenzo, like St. Rose, also hails from the 17th century, born in 1600 to a Chinese Father and Filipino mother, both of them Christians. As a young man he learned Tagalog from his mother, Chinese from his father, and the Dominican priests taught him Spanish. Lorenzo eventually married and was the father of two sons, and he supported his family as a calligrapher and transcriber of documents. His future seemed bright until he was falsely accused of murder. With his world turned upside down, he turned for help to the Dominican priests. They, in turn, invited him to join them on a missionary journey to Japan where, unbeknownst to them, a severe persecution against Christians was underway. As soon as their disembarked at Okinawa, their identity became known and they were taken to Nagasaki where they were cruelly tortured. But Lorenzo would not give up his faith, no matter how bad the torture. His dying declaration should ring in our ears every day: “I will never renounce my faith because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for him, I would give many thousands of lives if I had them. And so, do with me as you please!” . . . Clearly he was “on mission”.
St. Pedro Calungsod
St. Pedro Calungsod was also born in the 17th century and from his earliest days had a warm devotion to the Eucharist and a beautiful love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. With his faith stirred into flame, he became a missionary catechist. Together with a Spanish missionary priest, Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, Pedro went to Guam where he spread the faith with courage and love. What so many loved about Pedro was his kindness and patience amid the obstacles and privations he faced in his missionary work. His labors bore much fruit as many were converted to Christ – and as a result of his labors, he and Fr. Diego were put to death in 1672.
Notice that both St. Lorenzo and St. Pedro were not priests but lay persons, lay persons who responded to their baptismal call to holiness, baptizing Catholics who devoted their lives to the Church’s mission – they literally went out to make disciples and to see them baptized. What an inspiration for us as the family of the Knights of Columbus. They send us the message that every member of the Church is called to holiness and is called to mission.
Dry Bones and Love of God and Neighbor
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit as we seek to be renewed as missionary disciples. Like Ezekiel, let us pray that the Spirit would resurrect us in our dryness and heeding the voice of Jesus in the Gospel, let us pray for charity – love of God and neighbor, a charity that evangelizes, a charity that bears witness to Jesus Christ our King, living and reigning with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Vivat Jesus!